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The Princess of Wales will attend both the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow.
Buckingham Palace confirmed today that Kate will join King Charles III, her husband Prince William and other senior Royal Family members at the commemoration for the war dead on Sunday, and be present at tomorrow evening’s annual festival.
However, palace officials also said the Queen’s attendance at Remembrance events this weekend is unconfirmed, and will be subject to medical advice nearer the time.
Camilla, 77, has been unwell with a chest infection and was forced to pull out of engagements earlier this week. She is still resting at her Wiltshire home Raymill.
Kate is making a gradual return to public duties after completing a course of cancer treatment, with her last high-profile appearance at Trooping the Colour in June.
She has stayed home with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis this week while William was in Cape Town for his Earthshot Prize awards.
But Kate’s double appearance this weekend will be the first time she has carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements since the start of the year.
As is tradition, Kate will watch on Sunday from above on the nearby Foreign Office balcony, taking part in the two-minute silence and viewing the veterans’ march past.
It comes after William revealed how 2024 has been ‘brutal’ and ‘probably the hardest year in my life’ with both Kate and his father the King diagnosed with cancer.
Kate attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on November 12, 2023
William and Kate at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 11, 2023
The prince spoke candidly about the Royal Family’s major health scares, saying of this year: ‘Honestly, it’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.
‘So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult. But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
‘But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.’
Earlier this week, William also said of Kate during an interview before his awards on Wednesday evening: ‘She’s doing really well thanks. And hopefully she is watching tonight.
‘So cheering me on. She’s been amazing this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success.’
Kate travelled to Merseyside four weeks ago with William to meet privately with bereaved families of the Southport stabbing victims before greeting emergency responders in front of the cameras.
That visit on October 10 was her first joint public appearance alongside William since her cancer treatment ended, marking a major milestone in her gradual journey back to public duties.
Kate has also spoken with aides about staging her annual Christmas carol service in December, holding a meeting with her team at Windsor Castle on September 24.
She delivered a bombshell video message in March revealing she was undergoing chemotherapy after post-operative tests following major abdominal surgery showed she had cancer.
The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on November 12, 2023
The Royal Navy prepare for Sunday at HMS Excellent training base in Hampshire on Tuesday
Well-wishes flooded in from around the world and the King – who has also had treatment for cancer following his own diagnosis – was said to be ‘so proud’ of his ‘beloved daughter-in-law’ for her courage in speaking out.
In June, Kate looked relaxed during her first day in the spotlight following her diagnosis when she appeared at the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony.
She took part in the carriage procession and joined William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and other royals on the Palace balcony.
It came the day after a health update from Kate, who was pictured in the grounds of the Windsor Castle estate, standing in a tranquil setting against a weeping willow tree near a lake.
She issued a written message saying she was ‘making good progress’ and had ‘good days and bad days’, but added: ‘I am not out of the woods yet.’
A few weeks later she made another rare appearance when she presented the Wimbledon men’s final trophy to Carlos Alcaraz.
The princess, patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, was accompanied by Charlotte and chatted to ball boys and girls, and entered Centre Court to loud applause.
The Princess announced she had finished her chemotherapy course in a heartfelt video in September, in which she spoke about her experience while footage played of the Waleses and their children enjoying time together outdoors.
OCTOBER 10: The Princess of Wales was most recently seen during a visit to Southport
SEPTEMBER 9: The Prince and Princess of Wales in Norfolk with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a handout still issued by Kensington Palace
She said she was entering ‘this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life’.
‘The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family,’ she said.
The Princess added: ‘Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long.’
Then on September 17, Kate was listed in the official record of royal events for the first time since her cancer treatment ended.
She featured in the Court Circular after holding a meeting at Windsor Castle about an issue that aides in the past have described as her life’s work – the early years development of children.
At the start of October, the princess was pictured hugging an aspiring teenage photographer with a rare and aggressive form of cancer after inviting her to take pictures at investitures at Windsor Castle.
Kate met Liz Hatton, 16, from Harrogate, and her family privately after the ceremony with William.
Kate will be joined at tomorrow’s annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance by the King, who became patron of the charity earlier this year.
JULY 14: The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte in the royal box at Wimbledon
JUNE 15: William and Kate with George, Louis and Charlotte at Trooping the Colour in London
MARCH 23: The Princess of Wales reveals she has cancer in a bombshell video message
Also in attendance will be her husband William, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
The event is staged annually on the Saturday evening of Remembrance weekend.
It honours sacrifices made by the British and Commonwealth armed forces community and includes musical performances and personal testimonies.
This year’s festival will showcase the contribution of the Second World War generation 80 years on from the D-Day landings, and commemorate 25 years since Nato peacekeeping forces were deployed in Kosovo, and 10 years since the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
On Sunday, Charles – who recently completed his first long haul overseas tour since his own cancer diagnosis – will lead the same Royal Family members at the annual Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph.
Thousands of veterans proudly wearing their medals, military families and the public will gather in remembrance of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The King will lay a wreath of poppies at the base of the memorial, leading the nation in tribute to its fallen servicemen and women.
The design pays tribute to the wreath of Charles’s grandfather King George VI and his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duchess of Gloucester pauses during a visit to the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey yesterday. She stepped in for Queen Camilla who fell ill with a chest infection
King Charles III holds an audience with Manon Jeannotte, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, at Buckingham Palace yesterday as he continues to hold engagements while Camilla is unwell
Prince William waves to fans in Cape Town on Wednesday during a visit for the Earthshot Prize
The wreath’s poppies are mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, which is traditional for the Sovereign, and its ribbon bears the King’s racing colours; scarlet, purple and gold.
The royal racing colours were also incorporated into the wreaths of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
Even if Camilla attends the service, her poppy wreath will be placed by an equerry from the Royal Household, as is the custom.
It will also bear her racing colours – brown, red and yellow – inherited from her grandfather, and echoes the wreath of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Both Charles and Camilla’s wreaths have been produced by the Poppy Factory.
William will lay the wreath previously laid by Charles as the former Prince of Wales, featuring The Prince of Wales feathers. The wreath bears a new ribbon in Welsh red.
Then on Monday, the Duchess of Edinburgh will attend an Armistice Service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Following the service, Sophie will place a wreath at the Memorial and will be invited to read an Armistice Day service reading. The day will then conclude with a tour of the Arboretum.
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